Klose brings open mind, global wisdom to the Rellik Tavern

Jann Klose was born in Germany, raised in South Africa and the first American city he lived in was -- Cleveland?

OK, he was only a high school foreign exchange student and has since anchored himself in New York City. Still, those initial impressions and all.

"They sent me there for punishment," he joked. "I do love Cleveland. They have a good sense of humor. I do Cleveland jokes in my show even when I'm in northeast Ohio."

Fortunately, the performer's career is far

from a joke.

Klose, 26, is gaining ground in the acoustic songwriter/singer world, performing around 100 shows a year from Liverpool to Los Angeles. He's scheduled a Northern California tour in February -- since it will never rain again here -- hitting Novato's Hopmonk Tavern on Feb. 9, Angelica's in Redwood City, Feb. 9, Acoustic Bistro in San Francisco on Nov. 10, and Benicia's Rellik Tavern on Feb. 12.

"Build the fan base. Always build the fan base," said Klose, hitting the road to promote "Mosaic," his third recording of original tunes.

The rigors of traveling is understood, Klose said.

"You don't have to like it and still be a musician, but it helps," he said. "It can be rough sometimes. You don't sleep. But I love it. I put up with that stuff. I'm addicted to the traveling and lifestyle."

It's been 10 years since Klose's first recording, "Sacrifice," and he's a different person, he said.

"I was just starting to get my act together," he said. "I've become much more confident. I enjoy what I do more. You learn by doing. Eventually, I got the reaction I'm getting. You work so hard to get to that place and when it happens, you enjoy it so much. Though definitely there are times you think, 'Why am I doing this? It's not worth it' and you get past those bumps in the road. It makes you stronger. There's growth because

of it."

Admittedly, Klose wasn't so wise when his career began.

"You always think it's going to be easier, always think it'll be so much fun," he said. "That all I have to is get on stage and write some nice songs. Then you find out there are 100,000 other people trying to do this, too. Especially in New York, it's very rough to get going here."

It helped, continued Klose, that he landed singing gigs on Broadway with "Jekyll & Hyde" and "Jesus Christ Superstar."

"Getting my own music off the ground was harder and took much longer," Klose said. "It was the naiveté that you grow up watching everyone else and only see it from the outside. Now that I'm doing it a few years, I love it even more. There's so much more to it."

Though the goals are always the same -- "take the music as far as I can take it" -- Klose understands the roller coaster that faces all musicians.

"What you have to remember is to not let that drag you down," he said.

"Sometimes, the goal is just to believing in yourself."

Because of his German and South Africa roots, "I see the world from all these different angles," Klose said. "And, generally, it's a nice conversation piece. It's a background people want to talk about. I feel lucky to live in all those places. It's made me more

open-minded."

People around the globe "are always different culturally, but they are a lot more common than we think," Klose said. "That's something I've learned."

Wherever someone lives, Klose encourages them to travel.

"It makes you look at your own life and your own surroundings differently," he said. "It's never what you think. The grass isn't greener, not always. If you have a chance to travel, even in a neighboring stage, go. It opens your mind."

Klose speaks fluently in English, German and his French can pass the

mustard.

"English always comes in handy, especially if you're in New Jersey where it's kind of English," laughed Klose.